Jeremy Hunt has said he feels "safer" now that soldiers will be guarding the Olympics
after the private security firm G4S failed to provide enough staff.

Mr Hunt, who is the Cabinet minister responsible for the Olympics, claimed G4S "probably didn't know what was going on in their own organisation" before the shortfall in recruits emerged.

But ensuring a secure Olympics is “not dependent” on G4S, he told ITV’s Daybreak.

“We've been monitoring this contract very closely, we had assurances for a very long time that everything would be all right, and we put in place a very robust plan, so the public can be very, very confident that there won't be a problem.”

He added: “I totally reject the suggestion that we haven't had a grip on this because we've been monitoring the contract carefully.

“They were assuring us right until last week that they were going to meet their requirements. I think they probably didn't know what was going on in their own organisation.

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“I think one of the things that seems to have happened is that they trained people back in March, got them for interviews, and didn't keep in touch with them, and then those people went and got other jobs so that when they then called them up and said, 'We need you to turn up next Friday', they weren't available.”

Mr Hunt praised the armed services and police forces who are supplying cover for the G4S shortfall, and said it was a "good thing" soldiers were guarding the London 2012 venues. He said: “That makes me feel safer, so I think it's a good thing.”

Mr Hunt spoke after reports that a request may be made today for up to 2,000 additional troops to plug any further gaps in security if G4S's problems become more severe.

The Ministry of Defence, which has already increased its contribution by 3,500 to 11,000, said that contingency plans were in place to increase the numbers again if necessary.

David Cameron has promised to “go after” G4S over the fiasco as the Government targeted the firm's multimillion-pound management fee.

The G4S boss Nick Buckles admitted to MPs earlier this week that there would be financial consequences from the company's failure to recruit enough staff but insisted it wanted to keep a £57 million management charge.

The sports minister Hugh Robertson said the Government was activating “all penalty clauses” in the contract, some of which applied to the management fee.

The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said G4S should be barred from taking on any more government contracts until its competence has been reviewed in the wake of the Olympic security scandal.

Mr Miliband used a speech on police commissioners to demand a moratorium on any new public money being awarded to the firm after what he said was a failure that “beggared belief”.